ON THE CONCEPT "SURPRISE" IN THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE PICTURE OF THE WORLD

Abstract

Surprise as a basic emotion acts like an integral component of an emotional picture of the world and has some universal and specific characteristics. It is characterized by the breadth of evaluation: negative - neutral - positive; transitional character - ability of fast transformation into another condition; short duration. The following positions are significant while representing the concept “surprise”: to talk - to be silent, to move - to stop, to express - to hide , to understand , to feel , to cause - to destroy . The ability to express surprise someway or other (including verbal and not-verbal aspects) is the most important among these positions. Having initially felt surprise a human being tries to comprehend and evaluate it, to manage this emotion hiding it if necessary. The category of intensity is being shown through the dimensions and force of surprise. However, the highest stage of surprise can be represented by the so called “emotional zero”.